Average Time to Close: 44 Days

For the second consecutive month, the average time to close all loans stayed at 44 days, suggesting that new mortgage rules that took effect this fall are having less of an impact on delaying loans, according to Ellie Mae’s latest Origination Insight Report.

Here’s a breakdown of averages from the report:

The average time to close a purchase remained at 45 days in April.

The average time to refinance rose to 44 days in April (up from 41 days in March).

The average time to close FHA loans rose to 45 days (up from 44 days in March).

The average time to close VA loans stayed steady at 48 days.

The closing rates for all loans dropped to 69 percent in April, retreating from the high of 71 percent in March, according to Ellie Mae’s report. More specifically, purchase closing rates dropped to 73 percent in April, down from 75 percent in March.

Credit scores remain high among applicants. Sixty-eight percent of purchases and 69 percent of refinances had FICO credit scores of 700 or above. Thirty-one percent of purchases had a FICO score between 600 to 699.

Additional highlights from the report:

The average 30-year rate for all loans dropped from 4.12 in March to 4.10 in April.

Debt-to-Income remained steady at 25/38 and Loan-to-Value stayed at 80.